Bayonne

Bayonne (Basque: Baiona; Spanish: Bayona) is a city and commune of southwest France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département, of which it is a sous-préfecture.

Description

The Nive divides Bayonne into Grand Bayonne and Petit Bayonne, with five bridges between the two, both quarters still backed by Vauban's walls. Indeed the Nive is more like a main street, with many restaurants, squares and the covered market on its quays. The houses lining the Nive are picturesque examples of Basque architecture, with half-timbering and shutters in the national colours of red and green. The much wider Adour is to the north. The Pont St-Esprit connects Petit Bayonne with the Quartier St-Esprit across the Adour, where the massive Citadelle and the railway station are located.

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Grand Bayonne is the commercial and civic hub, with small pedestrianised streets packed with shops, plus the cathedral and Hôtel de Ville.

Related Topics:
Cathedral - Hôtel de Ville

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The Cathédrale Ste-Marie is an imposing, elegant Gothic building, rising over the houses, glimpsed along the narrow streets. It was constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries. The south tower was completed in the 16th century but the cathedral was only completed in the 19th century with the north tower.

Related Topics:
Gothic - 13th centuries

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The cathedral is noted for its charming cloisters. There are other details and sculptures of note, although much was destroyed in the Revolution.

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Nearby is the Château-Vieux, some of which dates back to the 12th century, where the governors of the city were based, including the English Black Prince.

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Petit Bayonne is lively with Basque bars and restaurants more reminiscent of cities the other side of the Pyrenees. There are two important museums here.

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The Musée Basque is the finest ethnographic museum of the entire Basque Country. It opened in 1922 but has been closed for a decade recently for refurbishment. It now has special exhibitions on Basque agriculture, seafaring and pelota, handicrafts and Basque history and way of life.

Related Topics:
1922 - Pelota

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The Musée Bonnat began with a large collection bequeathed by the local-born painter Léon Bonnat. The museum is one of the best galleries in south west France and has paintings by Degas, El Greco, Botticelli and Goya among others.

Related Topics:
Léon Bonnat - Degas - El Greco - Botticelli - Goya

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At the back of Petit-Bayonne is the Château-Neuf, among the ramparts. Now an exhibition space, it was started by the newly-arrived French in 1460 to control the city. The walls nearby have been opened to visitors. They are important for plantlife now and Bayonne's botanic gardens adjoin the walls on both sides of the Nive.

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The area across the Adour is largely residential and industrial, with much demolished to make way for the railway. The St-Esprit church was part of a bigger complex built by Louis XI to care for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. It has an attractive wooden Flight into Egypt sculpture.

Related Topics:
Louis XI - Pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela

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Overlooking the quarter is Vauban's 1680 Citadelle. The soldiers of Wellington's army who died besieging the citadelle in 1813 are buried in the nearby English Cemetery, visited by Queen Victoria and other British dignataries when staying in Biarritz.

Related Topics:
1680 - Queen Victoria

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The distillary of the famous local liqueur, Izarra, is on the northern bank of the Adour and is open to visitors.

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